Senior Iranian leaders on Thursday signaled the country is on the brink of restarting its contested nuclear weapons program, disclosing the Islamic Republic is prepared to restart the full-scale enrichment of uranium, the key component in a nuclear weapon, if it does not continue to receive cash windfalls from European countries still committed to the landmark nuclear agreement. Continue reading →

BERLIN/TEHRAN (Own report) – New US sanctions against Iran have come into effect, without the slightest sign of success for the opposition to the US Middle East policy that had been so loudly proclaimed by Berlin and the EU. Berlin had affirmed, it would do everything in its power to secure for EU companies – particularly German – business deals with Iran, thereby safeguard the nuclear agreement while strengthening the standing of German/EU industry in Iran. The latter has completely failed. German business representatives are warning of the “danger” that German business with Iran “could come to a complete halt.” If this development continues, China – which during the first round of sanctions, had already become Iran’s main trading partner – could further enhance its position in Iran, particularly due to continued oil purchases from Tehran. Contrary to its announcement, the Trump administration did not succeed in entirely cutting off Iranian oil exports. Today, Iran is selling more oil than during the previous round of sanctions.

The reactor launched on November 5 is among 16 that Saudi officials, citing archrival Iran’s continued development of nuclear energy, have said they plan to build over the next two decades at a cost of $80 billion.

While Riyadh insists its goal is to diversify away from oil and gas, the main drivers of the kingdom’s economy, the nuclear plans have raised concerns in the West about the possibility of a nuclear race between the two Middle Eastern rivals.

Like Iran, Riyadh insists its only goal is the development of peaceful nuclear technologies. But Prince Muhammad warned in March that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, Riyadh will do so as well. Continue reading →

Andrei Belousov said Russia is ‘preparing for war’ in response to the US (Image: GETTY)

A LEADING Russian official has warned that Russia is preparing for war in the wake of the US’s unilateral withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), in a sign of growing tensions between the two foes.

Andrei Belousov, deputy head of the Department of Nonproliferation and Arms Control at the Russian Foreign Minister, raised concerns over potential future conflict between the US and Russia, stating that Moscow will defend its territorial integrity and principles in response to US aggression.

Mr Belousov made his remarks after the First Committee of the UN General Assembly voted against a draft resolution to the INF proposed by Russia in support of the treaty. Continue reading →

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has vowed to ‘shred’ the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal if the U.S. walks away.

The Iranian government has urged Europe to “encourage” President Donald Trump to recertify the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saying there is no “Plan B” should the nuclear agreement be terminated. Continue reading →

The Trump administration is laying the groundwork to abandon the landmark nuclear deal with Iran if European allies fail to fix the agreement and close key loopholes that have allowed the Islamic Republic to continue sensitive nuclear research and develop advanced ballistic missiles, according to senior administration officials and top lawmakers who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon about sensitive ongoing diplomatic talks.

Senior Trump administration officials have been pressuring European allies to agree to a range of fixes to the nuclear deal that would address Iran’s military intervention across the Middle East, as well as its ongoing efforts to develop advanced ballistic missile technology that could be used to carry a nuclear weapon. Continue reading →

The Trump administration waived key sanctions on Iran’s main propaganda network last month, causing outrage among Iranian dissidents and administration insiders who tracked the effort to a little known Obama-era side deal with Iran that bars these sanctions from being implemented, according to multiple sources who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon. Continue reading →

The reactor building at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant / Getty Images

Russia to build two new nuke plants for Iran

A Russian atomic energy corporation announced late Monday that it has formally begun construction on a new $10 billion nuclear plant in Iran amid global efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear endeavors.

The deal, which has been in the works since the Obama administration negotiated the landmark nuclear agreement with Iran, is aimed at further cementing ties between Moscow and Tehran and is being handled by Russia’s state Rosatom corporation. Continue reading →

A picture taken in 2010 shows the test firing at an undisclosed location in Iran of a surface-to-surface Qiam missile / Getty Images

Trump admin moving closer to confronting the Iranian threat

Iran is preparing to launch two new domestic satellites into space, according to a new announcement by Iranian military leaders that is stirring discussion among U.S. national security insiders who say the move is likely cover for the test firing of advanced intercontinental ballistic missile technology that could be used as part of Iran’s nuclear program.

The latest test comes as the Trump administration continues to engage in a comprehensive review of the Iran nuclear agreement that U.S. officials tell the Washington Free Beacon will result in a full-scale plan to “meet the challenges Iran poses with clarity and conviction.” Continue reading →

Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday delivered some of his harshest remarks to date against Israel, describing the Jewish state as a “fake nation” in a “dirty chapter” of history.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a pro-Palestinian gathering in Tehran that Israel is a “cancerous tumor” that requires a step by step” treatment, according to the Associated Press.

The creation of Israel is “one of the dirty chapters of history that will be closed, with the grace of God,” Khamenei said, arguing that the Jewish state was formed by bringing Jews from around the world to the Middle East to settle Palestinian land–a process that he described as replacing the region’s “true entity.” Continue reading →

The abrupt resignation Monday evening of White House national security adviser Michael Flynn is the culmination of a secret, months-long campaign by former Obama administration confidantes to handicap President Donald Trump’s national security apparatus and preserve the nuclear deal with Iran, according to multiple sources in and out of the White House who described to the Washington Free Beacon a behind-the-scenes effort by these officials to plant a series of damaging stories about Flynn in the national media. Continue reading →

In her final appearance before the Security Council on Wednesday, outgoing US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said that Iran is exporting weapons to the Hizballah organization and is thus once again in violation of resolution 2231, which bans arms sales by Tehran. She urged council members to demand Tehran to abide by the resolution that also specifies the schedule for a partial lifting of sanctions under the nuclear agreement between Iran and Western powers. Continue reading →

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) – Recent media reports have, for the first time, disclosed US American interference in German business deals with recalcitrant countries. US authorities intervene directly, if German companies carry out financial transactions, for example, with Iran. Repeatedly, Washington has successfully blocked business deals – even though they had been legal in Germany – and had the respective employees and board members fired from their jobs, using the justification that (German) companies with sites in the USA are subject to US law. This also applies to bilateral US sanctions imposed, for example, on Iran. This means that Washington actually succeeds in transposing US domestic law onto other countries, including Germany. The most recent example: Washington is considering a veto on a Chinese company’s taking over Aixtron, a German chip equipment manufacturer. President Obama is expected to announce his decision today, Friday. These US-practices have been disclosed at a time of political transition, as Berlin is reinforcing its efforts to create an EU armed forces, to achieve “strategic autonomy” and become a world power. This arrogant US interference in the German-European economy is a taboo that cannot be tolerated on the road toward the long anticipated “superpower Europe.”

Russia is in talks with Iran over a $10 billion arms deal in which Moscow would provide advanced tanks, artillery systems, planes and helicopters to the Islamic republic.

The nascent deal would further cement an alliance between Moscow and Tehran that is likely to prove a major stumbling block for any rapprochement between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, who has vowed to rip up a nuclear agreement with Iran that the Kremlin supports.